KCR warns of locust attack in Telangana

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao has instructed the official machinery concerned to be on high alert once again as there is some danger of swarms of locusts arriving in the state and destroying any standing crops.

The locust swarm is currently at Azmi village near Ramtek in Maharashtra, which is about 200 km from Telangana and there is a possibility of their entering the state. The Chief

Minister on Wednesday held a meeting with senior officers about measures to be taken to save the crops from attack.

After perusing the latest information provided by the officials, the chief minister said it was clear the swarms of locusts were travelling south and could pose a danger to Telangana, arriving in the state between June 20 and July 5, around the time the monsoon crops season would have begun in Telangana and crops will have sprouted.

“If the locusts attack, there will be large-scale loss, as they will eat the tender crop,“ the CM said. He instructed collectors and other officials in eight districts bordering Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh to be alert, as the locusts could enter from these states. The situation must be reviewed from time to time, he added.

The CM has constituted a special team under the leadership of the chief secretary, Somesh Kumar, to oversee the measures taken to prevent the locusts from entering the state.